Every year, hundreds of NHL draft picks aim to impress their general manager enough to earn an entry-level contract and take another step closer to achieving their goal and playing in the NHL.
Vilmer Alriksson earned that impressive honour last week as he inked a three-year entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks.
The 2023 fourth-round pick impressed at Canucks development camp, and then at the Young Stars Invitational before catching the eye of head coach Rick Tocchet at Canucks main camp.
Standing at 6’6” and weighing 235 pounds, Alriksson is easy to spot on the ice, and I can confirm that he has made at least one 6’3” Senior Hockey Writer feel small when Alriksson was standing in skates with him to chat about how the past few weeks have gone with the Canucks.
“It was really fun playing in the preseason against players [that you] looked up to when you were growing up,” said Alriksson. “It was also a lot of fans. So, it was really fun.”
Alriksson said he enjoyed his experience in his preseason games, but some of his family back home was not having as much fun due to the shock of seeing Alriksson drop the gloves for just the second time in his life. The fact that it was also 4:30 a.m. in Sweden and the family was just getting up to watch him play didn’t help.
“I think my mom got a little scared, but they were just proud of me and my debut,” said Alriksson with a laugh.